JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday vetoed legislation some feared could jeopardize millions of dollars in federal funding for the St. Louis region.
The bill, passed in May, would have removed St. Charles, Franklin and Jefferson counties from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program that required vehicle emissions testing. The program, which also includes the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County, was designed to bring the St. Louis area into compliance with federal air quality standards.
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Supporters of the bill considered the emissions testing requirement burdensome and unpopular with constituents. But the EPA warned that lifting the requirements could lead the agency to find Missouri out of compliance with the federal Clean Air Act. St. Louis' private sector business group, Greater St. Louis Inc., warned that falling out of compliance could lead to "a significant loss of federal funding for certain highway projects and grants" in the area — a potential development that it called "devastating."
Parson, in a veto letter to lawmakers, pegged that potential loss at $52 million annually.
Read the full story on the St. Louis Business Journal website.
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